Rotary blade and hand-held fabric cutters are, hereinafter referred to as “rotary cutters” are known in the industry. They may be used in industrial, commercial or home settings for the cutting, usually of one or two layers of fabric at a time, and usually no more than a few layers. Rotary cutters provide for improved precision and speed compared to scissors and the like.
A typical rotary cutter, such as that shown in U.S. Patent Application 2008/0201960 by Watanabe and U.S. Patent Application No. 2011/0078908 by Bagley comprise an elongated handle shaped to enhance the stability of the user's hand grip, a transverse bolt affixed to the handle near one end of the handle, and a circular blade mounted on the bolt, thereby providing for the free rotation of the blade during a cutting operation. A rotary cutter is also typically provided with a lead guard of some sort to reduce the possibility of inadvertent injury to the user or others. Various types of guards have been devised, such as the divided guard of Watanabe which provides for one of two sub-member guards to be longitudinally retracted by operation of a slider knob and the guard of Bagley which laterally retracts when a guard release button is depressed and pressure is exerted on the cutting edge of the cutter for a cutting operation. The various blade guards that are provided for rotary cutters in the prior art have provided varying degrees of hand safety and varying degrees of user convenience and utility.
Lights have also been provided for use with rotary cutters, assisting in the viewing of the cut line during the cutting operation. The most notable are light units that are attachable to a rotary cutter and which are operated independently of the guard retraction mechanism.
It is an objective of the present invention to provide a longitudinally and laterally retracting guard which exposes all of the available cutting edge of the rotary blade, providing ready flexibility to the user in the direction of the cut and the hand to be used to make the cut with the cutter. It is a further objective of the present invention to provide a rotary cutter light system which serves a dual purpose of illuminating the cut area on the fabric and informs the user that the blade guard has been retracted.